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How to Get Rid of Fleas and Ticks

Warm, spring weather means more than just tulips and tubetops. It’s flea and tick season! In addition to just being plain uncomfortable, fleas and ticks can cause some serious health problems for our furry friends. Ticks on pets can also transmit Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever to humans. Ick!

These little parasites are tough to fight, but the ASPCA is here to help. Check out our top five tips for keeping your pets itch-free this spring.

1. Fleas and ticks LOVE long grass and shady outdoor spots. Ensure a pest-free lawn by mowing regularly, removing tall weeds and making it inhospitable to common tick hosts, including rodents, by keeping garbage covered and inaccessible.

2. Talk to your vet about choosing the right, species-specific flea and tick treatment for your pet such as a topical, liquid insecticide applied to the back of the neck. PetArmor, the official flea and tick sponsor of the ASPCA, is one option.

3. Never use products for dogs on cats, and vice versa. If you accidentally apply the wrong topical treatment to your pet, please call our poison control hotline (888-426-4435) asap.

4. Treat all of your petsfor fleas, not just those who show outward signs of infestation.

5. During warmer months, it’s also a good idea to check your pet for ticks. If you do spot a tick, take care when removing it to avoid spreading disease.

Warm, spring weather means more than just tulips and tubetops. It’s flea and tick season! In addition to just being plain uncomfortable, fleas and ticks can cause some serious health problems for our furry friends. Ticks on pets can also transmit Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever to humans. Ick!

These little parasites are tough to fight, but the ASPCA is here to help. Check out our top five tips for keeping your pets itch-free this spring.

1. Fleas and ticks LOVE long grass and shady outdoor spots. Ensure a pest-free lawn by mowing regularly, removing tall weeds and making it inhospitable to common tick hosts, including rodents, by keeping garbage covered and inaccessible.

2. Talk to your vet about choosing the right, species-specific flea and tick treatment for your pet such as a topical, liquid insecticide applied to the back of the neck. PetArmor, the official flea and tick sponsor of the ASPCA, is one option.

3. Never use products for dogs on cats, and vice versa. If you accidentally apply the wrong topical treatment to your pet, please call our poison control hotline (888-426-4435) asap.

4. Treat all of your pets for fleas, not just those who show outward signs of infestation.

5. During warmer months, it’s also a good idea to check your pet for ticks. If you do spot a tick, take care when removing it to avoid spreading disease.

Read our how-to guide on how to remove a tick from your pet for more info. And please share this post with your friends on social media with the hashtag #FightFleas.

seriously, this page is so bereft of useful information that you will never have a chance of getting rid of your fleas if all you do is rely on this post to guide you. Come on, ASPCA, step up to the plate.

There are other things that you can do. Perhaps this is a better top five things. For your yard, spread beneficial nematodes that prey on fleas and ticks, in addition to many other pests. Plant lavender, rosemary, lemon geranium (citronella) and marigold. All of these either kill or deter fleas. Bathe your pets regularly with an organic lavender shampoo during flea season. Treat your home with Diatomaceous Earth (DE), and look into lavender, rosemary, lemon geranium essential oils. Make sure to vacuum every day. DE is also useful for taking care of worms. You can get DE online or at a feed store. It is fairly inexpensive, just make sure it is food grade and exercise caution while handling it. It is a very fine powder and can get into your lungs, similar to baby powder. All of these things take a little bit of time if your infestation is bad, but stick with it and it will work. I hope that helps. I know all of these things worked for me. All of these things are natural and safe for your pets and children.

I have front lined my cats to almost oblivion and the poor things ar so infected with fleas, I washed one tonight in Dawn, and the fleas just kept coming up to her head and whiskers. I am afraid the front
line does nothing.

Be careful. Essential oils, including lavender, are toxic to cats. (The lavender plant is not, but the oils are. I wish the Young Living and doTerra reps would stop promoting oils for pets without full knowledge of them.)